September 3, 2014

Lawmakers from both parties on Tuesday exhorted President Obama to broaden the military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) after the group released a second video that appeared to show the beheading of an American journalist.

While the authenticity of the video has not been confirmed, lawmakers said the presumed execution of 31-year-old Time journalist Steven Sotloff demands a forceful American response.

“Let there be no doubt, we must go after ISIS right away because the U.S. is the only one that can put together a coalition to stop this group that’s intent on barbaric cruelty,” said Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) in a statement.

Nelson announced he would offer legislation next week that would give Obama clear authority to strike ISIS in Syria.

“This will ensure there’s no question that the president has the legal authority he needs,” Nelson said.

Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Eliot Engel (N.Y.), the committee’s ranking Democrat, similarly said the threat posed by ISIS warrants an air campaign in Syria.

“Target them and target the terrorist training camp where they’re bringing thousands of fighters from around the world, putting them through training over a period of weeks to teach them how to conduct terrorist activities,” Royce said on CNN. “Those camps and the munitions should be targeted as well.”

Better if the response policy had been announced ahead of time, but a non-linear progression seems right: 1st beheading, we kill 20 of yours; 2nd beheading, 400; 3rd will cost you 8000. Do you really want to keep on?

Coalition? No nation with halfway-sane leaders is going to coalesce with The Cipher with his leading-from-behind, cut-and-run past performances. The Bushes could build coalitions. The Obamas, not so much. And without any allies, we probably will not do much either. All we'll do is a hashtag campaign.

And now Rand Paul will need to start back pedaling and try to become a hawk. His brand of isoliationistic neutrality doesn't look too nice when barbarians are decapitating people and putting the videos up on you tube.Who'd have thunk that Obama, for all his weakness displayed for all the world to see may prove to be more functionally competent than libertarians when it comes to dealing with ISIL as an actual threat. Of course he'll be dragged kicking and screaming into any action whatsoever.

"Nelson announced he would offer legislation next week that would give Obama clear authority to strike ISIS in Syria.

“This will ensure there’s no question that the president has the legal authority he needs,” Nelson said."

Yup...Kinda reminds me of when those dems voted overwhelmingly in support of military action in Iraq before they undermined the effort with every last shred of their sociopolitical capital...Right up until 0bama was given the opportunity to humiliate all our allies and pull the troops out of fortress Iraq...And hand ISIS a vacuum cleaner.

*spit*

'Trust us. We won't fundamentally transform this kinetic action into another steaming clusterf^ck this time'...Pinky swear.'

“Target them and target the terrorist training camp where they’re bringing thousands of fighters from around the world, putting them through training over a period of weeks to teach them how to conduct terrorist activities,” Royce said on CNN. “Those camps and the munitions should be targeted as well.”

So, is this going to be a clear declaration of war by Congress - or is it going to be some sort of half-measure that authorizes hostilities without a clear goal of what those hostilities (carried out by US military personnel) are to accomplish?

Even the very statement Obama made doesn't mention destroying the enemy - only some watered down verbiage that basically boils down to containing them.

How long is that supposed to go on for? How many decades? How many lives? How much money? At what point is he going to choke out the word "war"?

We spent years in Iraq and Afghanistan, losing thousands of US lives, costing millions and millions of dollars from a broke US treasury, only to have Obama use a flimsy excuse to simply pull out almost overnight and leave Iraq and the vast majority of Afghanistan to whatever fates awaited.

That action was a direct political move to pacify his base, a base that opposed the war as often as not on nothing more than the fact that Bush had initiated it.

Their misguided sense of moral outrage HAD to be assuaged!!!

It did not matter what US interests were, it did not matter that it took those sacrifices in both lives and national wealth and threw them away for political gain.

It did not matter what the results would be in those countries as a power vacuum was created when US forces pulled out.

It did not matter that the US would be seen as a weak ally who would bolt at the first opportunity and leave its friends to swing in the wind.

It didn't matter because the highest goal of Obama and the left was to simply undo anything Bush had done.

Forgive me if I am not supportive of asking our military to simply march back up that hill again after giving it back to the enemy, or to ask the nation to sacrifice still more lives and more treasury after Obama threw away all of the gains that had been accomplished in a political temper tantrum.

I don't know what the answer is as to how to destroy ISIL/ISIS, but I have no confidence that Obama is the man to guide us through this mess he had such a large hand in creating.

It's like asking the arsonist to lead the effort to put out the fire he deliberately started and took glee in watching engulf the building.

The ONLY way I would be supportive of this congressional action is if the military leadership marched their butts up to Congress and testified publicly what the stated goals were and realistically what the time and costs were projected to be - and received practically unanimous support from both the House and the Senate for those goals and those costs.

Oh, and then were given a free hand, independent of outside political influence and definitely free from micromanaging by this administration, from the overall strategy all the way down to the individual Rules of Engagement as to how they were going to implement their plan.

If they aren't going to go all in to win - then admit it and pack up and go home.

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